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Pat and Chuck Blackley
Photo Gallery: Top 12 Not-To-Miss Blue Ridge Waterfalls
Discover a dozen of our favorite Virginia mountain waterfalls!
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Courtesy of Great Falls
#1. Great Falls
Height: 76 feet
The Walk / Access: About 15 miles south of D.C. in Mclean, located on the Potomac River, the 800-acre Great Falls National Park offers hiking to three separate platforms from which to view its epic and eponymous cascades.
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Courtesy White Oak Canyon Falls
#2. Upper White Oak Falls
Height: While the canyon sports six cascading falls total, the upper falls drops 86 feet.
The Walk / Access: Proceed to milepost 42.6 of the Shenandoah National Park on Skyline Drive and park at the lot for the White Oak Skyline Drive Trailhead. The hike to the upper falls is a 4.6 mile roundtrip, featuring demanding elevation changes and plenty of scenery to go around. To upgrade your adventure, continue past the upper falls for another 1.35 miles and catch a glimpse of the 35-foot lower falls.
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Pat and Chuck Blackley
#3. Crabtree Falls
Height: Numerous cascades dropping a sum total of 1,080 feet.
The Walk/Access: From Tye River Gap on the Blue Ridge Parkway (milepost 27.2), head east on Va. 56 4.6 miles and look for parking on the right. The trail is steep, features numerous stairways, and winds upward for 1.9 miles. Frequently referred to as the “highest falls of the Blue Ridge,” or “the highest falls east of the Mississippi,” Crabtree Falls is one of the most breathtaking sights the state has to offer.
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Courtesy of Statons Creek Falls
#4. Statons Creek Falls
Height: 140 feet in several cascades.
The Walk/Access: From I-81 take exit 188-A for Buffalo and head east on US-60 for 13.6 miles. Take a left onto state Route 605 (Pedlar River Rd) and go about 2.2 miles. Look for the top of the falls just off the road and to the right. There is a small parking area about 100 yards prior to the falls on the left.
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Courtesy of Blue Suck Falls
#5. Blue Suck Falls
Height: The fall’s three cascades drop a total of about 60 feet.
The Walk/Access: From Exit 27 on I-64, in Williamsville, head north on County Rd 629 (Douthat Rd) to the Douthat State Park entrance. Across from the Visitor Center lies the entrance to the “moderately difficult,” three-mile-long Blue Suck Falls Trail.
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Pat and Chuck Blackley
#6. Falling Spring Falls
Height: Around 80 feet.
The Walk/Access: This magnificent fall is located in the Alleghany Highlands, about five miles north of Covington, and is visible from U.S. 220.
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Pat and Chuck Blackley
#7. Apple Orchard Falls
Height: 200 feet
The Walk/Access: Head to the Sunset Field Overlook, near Milepost 78.4 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is an approximately 1.5-mile hike down to the falls from the overlook.
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Courtesy of Stiles Falls
#8. Stiles Falls
2842 Crockett Springs Road, Shawsville, Virginia 24162
Height: 60 feet
The Walk/Access: Begin at camp Alta Mons in Shawsville. Park at the camp office, then walk up the main road past a swimming pool, retreat center and pond. Continue hiking for about .8 miles and you will see a sign for the falls. With very little climbing, the round-trip hike totals a breezy 3.5 miles.
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Pat and Chuck Blackley
#9. Cascade Falls
Height: 70 feet
The Walk/Access: Take U. S. 460 into Pembroke and turn onto Cascade Dr (Va. T623) which, after about 3.1 miles, will bring you to the entrance of The Cascades National Scenic Trail. From the parking lot ($3 per car), follow the trail around two miles until you see the waterfall.
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Tony Zeljeznjak
#10. Dismal Falls
Height: 15–20 feet
The Walk/Access: From I-81 take exit 98 and drive north of Va. 100. Go 11.6 miles then take a left onto Va. 42. After 10.1 miles, turn right onto Va. 606. After another mile, turn right on Va. 671. Half a mile after the pavement ends, look for the sign for the falls, which are less than .1 mile off the road.
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Courtesy of Straight Branch Falls
#11. Straight Branch Falls
Height: 20 feet
The Walk/Access: From Damascus, take U.S. 58 east for about 6 miles. The waterfall and a small pullover will be on the left side of the road. There is no sign or marker for the falls, so keep your eyes peeled. If you see Feather Camp Rd or Bear Tree Gap Rd you’ve gone too far.
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Jason Horton
#12. Devil's Bathtub
Height: 12 feet
The Walk/Access: From Duffield’s Fort Blackmore Primary School, follow state Route 619 north (Big Stoney Creek Rd) for 4.4 miles. Turn left onto FR-619 and go another .4 miles to the parking lot/entrance to the 3.2-mile out-and-back Devil’s Fork Loop Trail.
Concerning the beauty of the wonderful state of Virginia, in a 1795 letter to his dear friend Alexander Donald, Thomas Jefferson wrote the following:
“…there is no quarter of the globe so desirable as America [and] no state in America desirable as Virginia.”
As Jefferson chose the Blue Ridge Mountain nuzzling Albemarle County as the site for his mountaintop home of Monticello, not to mention his revolutionary educational project, the University of Virginia, it requires no stretch of the imagination to claim the confidence of the former president’s assertion was rooted in the landscape he so dearly loved.
As Jefferson wrote what amounts to one of the first surveys of Virginia—his “Notes on Virginia”—with a large portion of the work being dedicated to the state’s mountain tributaries and the rivers they fed, certainly the former president knew a thing or two about the state’s overwhelming bounty of falling water.
Thus, in celebration of America’s renaissance outdoorsman and Virginia’s foremost spokesman, here’s a bucket list of 12 Blue Ridge waterfalls Mr. Jefferson wouldn’t have wanted you to miss:
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Courtesy of Great Falls
Great Falls
Height: 76 feet
The Walk / Access: About 15 miles south of D.C. in Mclean, located on the Potomac River, the 800-acre Great Falls National Park offers hiking to three separate platforms from which to view its epic and eponymous cascades.
Get directions and more details
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2
Courtesy White Oak Canyon Falls
Upper White Oak Falls
Town of Elkton, Virginia 22827Height: While the canyon sports six cascading falls total, the upper falls drops 86 feet.
The Walk / Access: Proceed to milepost 42.6 of the Shenandoah National Park on Skyline Drive and park at the lot for the White Oak Skyline Drive Trailhead. The hike to the upper falls is a 4.6 mile roundtrip, featuring demanding elevation changes and plenty of scenery to go around. To upgrade your adventure, continue past the upper falls for another 1.35 miles and catch a glimpse of the 35-foot lower falls.
Get directions and more details
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3
Pat and Chuck Blackley
Crabtree Falls
10636 Crabtree Falls Highway, Tyro, Virginia 22976Height: Numerous cascades dropping a sum total of 1,080 feet.
The Walk/Access: From Tye River Gap on the Blue Ridge Parkway (milepost 27.2), head east on Va. 56 4.6 miles and look for parking on the right. The trail is steep, features numerous stairways, and winds upward for 1.9 miles. Frequently referred to as the “highest falls of the Blue Ridge,” or “the highest falls east of the Mississippi,” Crabtree Falls is one of the most breathtaking sights the state has to offer.
Get directions and more details
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4
Courtesy of Statons Creek Falls
Statons Creek Falls
2167-2181 Pedlar River Rd, Vesuvius, Virginia 24483Height: 140 feet in several cascades.
The Walk/Access: From I-81 take exit 188-A for Buffalo and head east on US-60 for 13.6 miles. Take a left onto state Route 605 (Pedlar River Rd) and go about 2.2 miles. Look for the top of the falls just off the road and to the right. There is a small parking area about 100 yards prior to the falls on the left.
Get directions and more details
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5
Courtesy of Blue Suck Falls
Blue Suck Falls
14239 Douthat State Park Rd, Millboro, Virginia 24460Height: The fall’s three cascades drop a total of about 60 feet.
The Walk/Access: From Exit 27 on I-64, in Williamsville, head north on County Rd 629 (Douthat Rd) to the Douthat State Park entrance. Across from the Visitor Center lies the entrance to the “moderately difficult,” three-mile-long Blue Suck Falls Trail.
Get directions and more details
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6
Pat and Chuck Blackley
Falling Spring Falls
Hot Springs Rd, City of Covington, Virginia 24445Height: Around 80 feet.
The Walk/Access: This magnificent fall is located in the Alleghany Highlands, about five miles north of Covington, and is visible from U.S. 220.
Get directions and more details
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Pat and Chuck Blackley
Apple Orchard Falls
Bedford Ave, City of Bedford, Virginia 24523Height: 200 feet
The Walk/Access: Head to the Sunset Field Overlook, near Milepost 78.4 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is an approximately 1.5-mile hike down to the falls from the overlook.
Get directions and more details
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8
Courtesy of Stiles Falls
Stiles Falls
2842 Crockett Springs Road, Shawsville, Virginia 24162Height: 60 feet
The Walk/Access: Begin at camp Alta Mons in Shawsville. Park at the camp office, then walk up the main road past a swimming pool, retreat center and pond. Continue hiking for about .8 miles and you will see a sign for the falls. With very little climbing, the round-trip hike totals a breezy 3.5 miles.
Get directions and more details
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9
Pat and Chuck Blackley
Cascade Falls
2068 Cascade Dr, Pembroke, Virginia 24136Height: 70 feet
The Walk/Access: Take U. S. 460 into Pembroke and turn onto Cascade Dr (Va. T623) which, after about 3.1 miles, will bring you to the entrance of The Cascades National Scenic Trail. From the parking lot ($3 per car), follow the trail around two miles until you see the waterfall.
Get directions and more details
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10
Tony Zeljeznjak
Dismal Falls
Dismal Creek Rd, Pearisburg, Virginia 24134Height: 15–20 feet
The Walk/Access: From I-81 take exit 98 and drive north of Va. 100. Go 11.6 miles then take a left onto Va. 42. After 10.1 miles, turn right onto Va. 606. After another mile, turn right on Va. 671. Half a mile after the pavement ends, look for the sign for the falls, which are less than .1 mile off the road.
Get directions and more details
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11
Courtesy of Straight Branch Falls
Straight Branch Falls
Jeb Stuart Hwy, Damascus, Virginia 24236Height: 20 feet
The Walk/Access: From Damascus, take U.S. 58 east for about 6 miles. The waterfall and a small pullover will be on the left side of the road. There is no sign or marker for the falls, so keep your eyes peeled. If you see Feather Camp Rd or Bear Tree Gap Rd you’ve gone too far.
Get directions and more details
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12
Jason Horton
Devil's Bathtub
214 Big Stoney Creek Rd, Fort Blackmore, Virginia 24250Height: 12 feet
The Walk/Access: From Duffield’s Fort Blackmore Primary School, follow state Route 619 north (Big Stoney Creek Rd) for 4.4 miles. Turn left onto FR-619 and go another .4 miles to the parking lot/entrance to the 3.2-mile out-and-back Devil’s Fork Loop Trail.
Get directions and more details
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